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Xenoblade Chronicles

Xenoblade Chronicles seems to have gained quite the reputation over the last few years. The game was brought to America on the Nintendo Wii thanks to an extensive campaign by Operation Rainfall, gathering interest, support, and financial backing for the localization. Now that it's in America, the game has become rather rare, though has become a bit more common thanks to Gamestop magically (read: suspiciously) finding an enormous stock of used copies. After all of that, Xenoblade Chronicles has become almost a chase title for the Wii, but does it live up to the hype?

Xenoblade Chronices

The story involves two ancient Titans, Bionis and Mechonis, who were engaged in a never-ending conflict, but eventually stopped moving. Now, these titans are home to many different species, and is where the story takes place. It involves a boy named Shulk, and his quest to stop a group of mechanical beings known as Mechon. However, the only thing capable of damaging the Mechon is a legendary sword known as the Monado, which grants its user visions of the future. Of course, in typical JRPG fashion, there's a lot more going on than just this, and becomes quite complex towards the end, but for a majority of the game, you spend your time hunting down Mechon. Ultimately, the story is passable, but isn't too thrilling until the later parts of the game. What will really keep you playing is the world in which the game takes place.

The environments are beautiful

The world of Xenoblade Chronicles is impressive, to say the least. Environments are large with a lot to explore, and look fantastic, with very little load time when switching areas. I had more fun just exploring the massive world than I did playing the story throughout a good portion of the game - that's how impressive the world is. The game has a nice variety, too. From large fields, to lush jungles, to frozen mountains and industrial cities, there is a lot to see in Xenoblade.

In terms of battles, you'll be fighting Mechon a lot, but there's plenty of natural fauna to fight as well, from bunnies and crabs to giant monkeys and elephant-like creatures. You control one character (usually Shulk, but you can change it) and do battle in real time. Your have very little control over your enemies, only being able to choose what attacks they use during chain attacks (where allies take turns attacking one enemy, dealing lots of damage) or certain other instances when you can "warn" them of an incoming attack. Otherwise, you're only controlling your main character. The battle system is decently complex, with a lot of different aspects and strategies to use. Some attacks can knock enemies over, some attacks have bonus effects depending on which direction you hit them from, and some attacks draw the attention of enemies, in addition to other effects. Your characters have multiple stats, which are affected by your equipment. Equipment can also be enhanced by things called gems, which grant anything from stat bonuses, to special abilities, to bonus experience.

Engaged in battle with a large Mechon

The graphics in the game are definitely a strong point. While not up to the standards of Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 due to the limitations of the Wii's hardware, the game still looks fantastic. The large environments are all impressive and immersive, with virtually no load times (except for when switching between areas) and an incredible draw distance. The monsters are highly detailed, and there's nothing quite like seeing the other titan standing off in the distance. The music is equally fantastic. A few of the tracks are forgettable, but most of the tracks set the mood really well and will be remembered for a while.

Colony 9, the first city, seen from the distance

There's plenty else to do in the game as well. There are tons of side quests to complete, which should keep you going for a while. There's also an affinity chart, showing the relationships between characters - both between your main characters, and the various NPCs in the game. These relationships affect various things throughout the game, such as skill links (your party can share certain passive traits with each other) between your party, or trades you'll get from other characters. You can also craft the gems I mentioned earlier, visit shops, collect items for the collectopaedia, and even build your own colony!

Crafting gems to use in battle

All in all, whether you're looking for a deep, expansive RPG with a lot to do, or simply a good game to play on your Wii console, Xenoblade Chronicles comes highly recommended. It's slow to start, but if you stick it out, you'll find yourself highly enjoying the game. Be wary of the game's high price, however. It's not as rare as it would lead you to believe. However, you'll pay the same amount for a brand new game with far less content, so it could be worth it.

By "one of these games" do you mean a xeno- game? Or one of the Wii RPGs released towards the end? It's an enjoyable game if you can afford it. I don't think it's quite worth the price, though :\ Xenosaga is probably your best bet (it's like $5-$10 depending where you look) for the former, The Last Story for the latter.